


euphoria

by jjhs



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Swimming, Angst, Bets & Wagers, Boys In Love, Confusion, Love Triangles, M/M, Mutual Pining, eventual poly - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:28:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21916777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jjhs/pseuds/jjhs
Summary: it seems like his mind is constantly replaying moments where jaemin looks at him and jeno feels his heart flutters. and his mind is constantly replaying those moments where jeno looks at donghyuck and realizes that his heart just wouldn’t survive without him.or, jeno falls for na jaemin while dating lee donghyuck and learns that there is history between the two boys. and, boy, are they all in for a surprise when old feelings resurface and love is proving to be more and more complicated with every passing moment.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Lee Jeno, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Na Jaemin, Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin
Comments: 10
Kudos: 129
Collections: ’00 FIC FEST: ROUND ONE





	euphoria

**Author's Note:**

> prompt code: #00177
> 
> warnings: uhm, there's no actual cheating but the fic kind of discusses it? but more in a way of someone trying to figure out their feelings for two people. i don't really know how to explain it, but there is no cheating. and, there is eventual poly. the entire thing works out in the end. thank you for reading <33
> 
> i hope you enjoy.

“Unspoken feelings are unforgettable.”  
— Andrei Tarkovsky

swimming was pretty irrelevant to lee jeno before he met lee donghyuck at renjun’s diving meet. see, lee donghyuck was annoying (still is as far as jeno’s concerned), but nonetheless, annoying. he was the kind of annoying that made jeno’s blood boil. donghyuck knew he was good, thought he was hot shit for sure, and he wasn’t afraid to show it off. he knew he was the best swimmer on his team, maybe even in the city, and he fucking flaunted it. and, he used it to his advantage.

so when hyuck came sauntering over to him after the meet, with sweatpants and a sweatshirt on, hair still wet, asking jeno for his number, jeno just about smacked him across the face. he didn't of course, but when he thinks about it, hyuck probably deserved it.

hyuck was, and still is, charming. jeno will always give him that. hyuck's sweet talking probably explains how jeno ended up in donghyuck's jeep, kissing him with too much passion for a first kiss, when he was supposed to be at renjun's. probably, but that's beside the point.

he found himself standing in the stands watching hyuck swim more than he did anything else. which, in hindsight, was probably bad for his grades, but he kept his 4.5 by the end of the semester. regardless, he found himself intrigued with the sport.

cue how he ends up in the dean's office asking if he can create a new swim team. he'd swam for a club team until he was fourteen, when the sport became too much for him to handle. his private school didn't have a team; they didn't bother because there wasn't enough people who actually wanted to swim, and every person capable of swimming was being forced to play basketball during the winter season.

he was lucky that his dean liked him and agreed to reopen the pool as long as jeno found a coach that would work for free. lucky for jeno, his brother's boyfriend, johnny, needed something to do in his free time and thought coaching his old sport sounded fun (plus, johnny was well off and definitely did not need the money that would've come from coaching...jaehyun is fucking lucky to have a rich boyfriend).

jeno thought maybe someone would sign up, but he wasn't exactly disappointed when he saw no one had. in fact, he was quite content with it. he liked being alone. he liked getting those two hours of practice to himself and letting the stress of the rest of the world fall away.

now, three months later, he is thoroughly, utterly, and completely shocked when he walks into the locker room after school on a tuesday and there's another person in the locker room, shirtless with sweatpants hanging low on his hips, very toned back on display.

jeno's footsteps must've alarmed the stranger because he spins around on the heel of his foot and furrows his eyebrows.

jeno tries. god, does he try to focus on his face. but, really, who can blame him when his eyes continuously drift down the person's body where his six-pack is on full display. he swallows hard and smiles sheepishly.

"hi," the stranger greets, a smirk on his face when he notices where jeno is looking, "i'm jaemin."

the name seems familiar and jeno tilts his head.

"i'm friends with donghyuck," jaemin offers, realizing jeno's confusion. "or, i was. if that helps."

jeno nods, slowly processing it. "i'm jeno," he coughs out. his eyes finally stay in their goddamn lane and focus on jaemin's face. "i'm going to guess you're new."

"yup," jaemin shuffles, throwing his t-shirt into a locker he claimed as his own. "just transferred. first day."

"oh," jeno murmurs. "that's cool."

jeno is too socially awkward to say anything else, so he quickly gets dressed and leaves the locker room, not caring that jaemin probably sees him as a weirdo with about two brain cells total.

he's stretching his arms out when johnny walks over to him. "so, you met our newest member of the team, huh?" johnny smiles at the thought of jaemin, clearly happy he doesn't have to watch jeno swim two thousand yards day after day.

"yeah..."

johnny goes on and on about how good jaemin is, clearly impressed with his accomplishments, not noticing jeno's apprehension about the whole thing. jeno doesn't know why he doesn't feel good about it because he has no reason to feel bad about it. it doesn't make a difference in his day, whatsoever, but he just doesn't know.

jaemin walks out of the locker room on his phone about five minutes before they’re supposed to get in the pool. johnny just smiles at jaemin and tells him to pick a lane.

jaemin settles on the lane two over from jeno, and jeno is glad. he did not want to swim next to jaemin for any reason.

practice starts and it’s pretty hard. johnny wants to see what jaemin’s got, and he doesn’t disappoint. in fact, johnny asks to speak to him after practice is over just to praise him. it leaves a bitter taste in jeno’s mouth for no distinguishable reason. he knows he’s just jealous that he can’t call himself the best swimmer on his team now.

he’s showered and dressed when jaemin walks back into the locker room. “good job, today,” jaemin says.

“thank you. you too,” jeno replies, blushing red, caught off guard.

jaemin smiles sweetly and goes back to texting on his phone. jeno walks out of school straight into lee donghyuck’s car, kissing him on the cheek as soon as he climbs into the passenger's seat.

“how was practice?” jeno asks as they pull out of the parking lot and head for hyuck’s home.

“long. we did, like, seven 4-IMs. the worst.”

“jesus,” jeno murmurs, running his thumb over the skin of hyuck’s hand. “there’s a new member on the team.”

“oh?” hyuck looks at jeno, pursing his lips. “any good?”

“amazing,” jeno mumbles, biting on his cheek. he doesn't mention who it is, even though jaemin's words from before confused the shit out of him. or, i was.

“that’s good, isn’t it?”

“i guess.” jeno shrugs his shoulders.

“why are you pouting, then?”

“i’m not pouting.”

hyuck scoffs. “you’re pouting.”

“can you stop knowing me so well?”

hyuck chuckles. “i love you, you fucking dork. but can you just tell me why you’re upset about this new boy? do i have to kick his ass? show off my awesome muscles? ...maybe i should just do it for fun.”

“no! don’t kick his ass. he’s liked...ripped…”

“so am i,” hyuck argues, hitting a turn doing thirty and making jeno hold onto his hand for dear life.

“i mean...no, just don’t fight him.”

they pull into hyuck’s driveway and jeno is still squeezing his hand so tight his knuckles are turning white.

“baby, the circulation is being cut off to my fingers.” hyuck attempts to pull his hand from jeno’s, but jeno holds on even tighter.

“you’re going to kill us, you fucking idiot!”

“we didn’t die!”

“you’re so lucky i love you. so. so. so. lucky.”

hyuck smiles softly. “yes. yes i am.”

☆☆☆

jeno is sitting in his fifth hour a week later when jaemin walks in, twenty minutes late with starbucks in one hand and his phone in the other.

the teacher doesn't say a word when jaemin sits down in the back row, doesn't even spare him a glace and continues on talking about mark twain and whatever else he's blabbering on about.

jeno is irritated. the last time he came into class fifteen seconds late (he was in the bathroom), he got scolded. how jaemin already has half the student body and teachers wrapped around his perfectly manicured fingers, jeno has no fucking idea.

jaemin has got to be the worst kind of obnoxious. the same kind of obnoxious donghyuck is. jeno rolls his eyes.

see, jeno usually doesn't hate people. actually, jeno has never hated a single person in his entire life. very rarely does he even dislike people. the only other person who jeno has ever felt this was about...was...his boyfriend...donghyuck.

he grimaces at the thought and returns his attention to the front of the room. he is listening to his teacher ramble on and on when he feels something hit the back of his head. he whips his head around and there na jaemin is, smirking at him. on his desk is a collection of wadded up pieces of paper.

jeno doesn't even know how to react to the situation. he doesn't get mad or upset; he likes to believe he is a very chill person and just about every person who has met him agrees. but jaemin is insufferable. literally insufferable and jeno doesn't even know why jaemin gets under his skin the way he does. no one has gotten under his skin like this before...except for donghyuck.

"that was rude," jeno says, voice calm and even. jaemin just fucking smirks at him. of course.

"it was funny," jaemin counters.

jeno takes a deep breath and refocuses on the board. he begins to count to ten and not lose control. he finally focuses on class, eyes trained on his teacher, when jaemin hits him again.

he ignores it. he has to. he can't lose his control. not in class or in front of jaemin. he doesn't want jaemin to have the satisfaction of knowing he can make jeno lose control.

jaemin does it once before giving up, which jeno thanks god for because if it happened again he probably would've turned around and smacked jaemin across the face. he hates that jaemin can get under his skin doing the bare minimum. he doesn't know why it's like this since they barely know each other.

the bell dismisses the class and jeno doesn't spare jaemin a glace, not knowing that the latter couldn't stop staring until jeno was too far away for him to see.

☆☆☆

"are you busy after practice?" jaemin asks, looking up from his phone after walking into the locker room right after school ends.

jeno narrows his eyes. "no, i don't think so."

"great. let's get food, then."

"and why would i want to do that?"

jaemin laughs. "why wouldn't you?"

"because you're annoying."

"you just have a low patience tolerance."

"that's so false, but okay." jeno sighs, slipping off his shirt and focusing on the tan, metal locker in front of him.

"so are you coming with me?" jaemin walks over to jeno, invading his personal space with a grin on his face.

jeno shrugs. "where are we going?"

"i don't know, mcdonald's? what do you want?"

jeno purses his lips. "do you think we'll get diabetes if we go to mcdonalds?"

jaemin laughs. "no, jeno. i don't think so."

"then i think mcdonald's sounds lovely."

☆☆☆

"i take it back, we might actually get diabetes," jaemin says, eyeing their pile of food. jeno settled on a big mac and a large fry, jaemin deciding to do just the same.

jeno grins at him, sticking a fry in his mouth. "great. i can't fucking wait."

they fall into a random conversation about music. jeno is a big fan of pop, while jaemin tends to listen to rap. they both agree to disagree when it comes to who the best rapper of all time is (jaemin claims it's tupac, jeno definitely thinks not).

only twice does jaemin throw a fry at jeno's face and only thrice does jeno smear ketchup across jaemin's cheek.

it's nice. the two of them together. even when there are dull moments in their conversations, where silence seeps in and they just look at each other. jeno is finishing his big mac, taking the last bite when he gets ketchup on the corner of his mouth.

jaemin tilts his head and hesitates before reaching across the table and wiping it with his thumb. the two of them just look at each other for a moment. jeno doesn't know what to say and neither does jaemin.

"it's getting late," jeno whispers. "i have...homework."

jaemin nods his head. "yeah. same. do you need a ride home?"

"if you wouldn't mind," jeno murmurs, eyes focusing on his empty tray.

"i will never mind."

☆☆☆

jeno sits on his bed in silence, trying to find the right words for his situation at hand. jaemin annoys him to no end, but he's sweet. that's for sure.

and then there's donghyuck. he loves donghyuck. he's _in love_ with donghyuck. so, why his mind wanders to jaemin, he doesn't know. he's been in love with donghyuck for over six months, closer to seven when he thinks about it.

his dilemma makes him want to jump out of his window and scream into his pillow. why is his heart doing this?

he decides to turn to google instead of renjun, who would be much more reasonable and would probably give more helpful advice.

in his search bar he types: _what does it mean if i maybe like two people romantically?_

it doesn't help. at all. instead, he just feels more confused than before. he decides that he doesn't actually like jaemin romantically. he barely knows jaemin. he just has a little puppy crush and it's because he's bored and jaemin is interesting.

because if he knows anything, anything at all, it's that he is in love with lee donghyuck. completely in love with him. so whatever is going on now doesn't matter. it will fade. it will fade...right?

☆☆☆

“why are you sitting next to me?” jeno asks, fingers dancing away as he types his message to hyuck. he spares jaemin one look before going back to his text.

“because i’m bored,” jaemin shrugs. “because you’re like, my only friend here.”

jeno rolls his eyes. “yeah, right. you have more friends than me and you’ve been here for three weeks.”

“whatever you say,” jaemin says, taking a bite of his lunch. “since you don’t wanna talk to me, i’ll just eat my lunch in silence.”

“you are so goddamn annoying,” jeno huffs, setting his phone down after hyuck tells him that he has to go to class. 

“awe, but you love it.” jaemin gives him that shit-eating grin and jeno doesn’t refute the fact.

“are you busy tonight?” jaemin asks, haphazardly throwing his leftovers into his brown paper bag.

jeno thinks for a moment. he and donghyuck have plans to hang at hyuck’s and make out. one of jeno’s favorite activities. “yeah, i actually am. sorry.”

“no worries,” jaemin says, easy-going as ever, a smile on his face. “tomorrow night?”

jeno smiles softly. “i think i’m free tomorrow.”

“good.” jaemin grins, eyes crinkling. jeno smiles to himself.

☆☆☆

there are soft moments between the two of them. moments that jeno likes to think about during the hard practices and during the stress of school. it seems like his mind is constantly replaying moments where jaemin looks at him and jeno feels his heart flutter. but his mind is constantly replaying those moments where he looks at donghyuck and realizes that his heart just wouldn’t survive without him.

weeks pass. jeno doesn’t understand it. doesn’t get why his heart sputters, why his stomach grows butterflies whenever he thinks about the both of them. doesn’t get why his mind is getting used to the idea of...falling for both of them. doesn’t get why his heart is growing and expanding and making room for someone else.

☆☆☆

“i love you,” hyuck murmurs in between kisses, lips soft against jeno’s neck. “love you, love you, love you.”

jeno can’t help the smile that plasters itself to his face. “what has gotten into you?” jeno murmurs, cuddling into hyuck’s side. donghyuck isn’t usually so lovey-dovey. sure, he shows his affection, but jeno was the first to say i love you and it took hyuck a few more weeks to come around to the idea of it (though, he had felt it long before he said it).

they’re on hyuck’s bed, face to face on their sides, though it seems as though jeno is curling up and making himself fit into the dip of hyuck’s hip. 

hyuck sighs, pressing his forehead against jeno’s and looking into his eyes. jeno shivers, feeling goosebumps rise from the intensity of hyuck's stare. “i just love you, jeno. so much. so much so that sometimes i don’t even know what to do with myself.”

jeno relaxes, a soft smile making its way onto his face. he takes a deep breath and tilts his head up to kiss hyuck on the chin. “love you more.”

he’s drifting off to sleep when he realizes that he could really spend forever here with donghyuck. he would if given the chance.

☆☆☆

two weeks have passed by since jeno realized that he is impossibly in love with hyuck, and jeno thinks everything is finally calming down. his racing heart and his confusion have settled. whatever he thought he had going on with jaemin was clearly in his head, just his heart playing cruel games, because their friendship has turned into a great one. one where there aren’t weird moments where jeno looks over and wants to kiss jaemin.

though, there are moments jeno thinks jaemin is looking at him with too much happiness, too much joy, where his eyes sparkle and light up. moments where jeno thinks maybe, just maybe, jaemin is going to lean over to press his lips to his. but those are fleeting moments. moments that last a few seconds at most. 

though, the moment jaemin has jeno pinned to the wall of the locker room, the older immediately realizes that their friendship isn’t normal in any sense. there are weird feelings, weird emotions, and weird passing seconds.

“you have a hickey,” jaemin breathes out, fingers tracing over the mark that hyuck left on him the previous night. jeno’s breath hitches. 

“jaemin,” he lets out, knowing good and well that friends don‘t do this. friends don’t get this close and personal, don’t get jealous, don’t do anything like this. “we can’t do this.”

jaemin is right on him, so close jeno can feel the heat from his breath on his neck. his stomach flutters and his head spins. oh, how this is so wrong. 

jaemin looks at jeno for a good ten seconds. “do you want to kiss me?”

jeno hesitates. “fuck no.”

“then why do you keep looking at my lips?”

“i’m not.” he is. jaemin’s lips are pink and pretty, glossed over from spit. so pretty. pretty. pretty. pretty. 

“you are.” jaemin quirks an eyebrow.

jeno breathes out. “yeah. i am.”

jeno pushes out of jaemin’s hold and runs straight to his car, which he rarely drives because he’s the worst fucking driver in the world. he takes a deep breath, trying his best to calm down. 

what the fuck is he doing? he isn’t supposed to want to kiss jaemin. he isn’t supposed to even think about it. what the fuck is going on? 

he hates his heart, his brain, his entire being. he gives into the self-pity and lets himself cry. he figures it’s all been building up for a long time and in his car in the school parking lot is obviously the best time for it to happen. 

is he a cheater? he doesn’t know. but he sure as hell feels like it. it’s a horrible feeling, having your heart split in two, both sides fighting each other. it all made sense before jaemin came along.

☆☆☆

two days later, and jeno has fallen off the face of the earth. hyuck and jaemin have been texting him and calling, but he just can’t bring himself to respond. he’s lucky it happened on a friday, otherwise he would not be able to face jaemin at school.

he’s standing at his car before his practice because johnny is running late, when hyuck pulls into the empty spot next to him and barely turns his car off before he’s jumping out and coming up to jeno.

“he-” jeno starts before he’s interrupted.

“what’s going on? are you okay? why have you been avoiding me, jen?” hyuck sounds hurt and that’s the last thing jeno wants. 

jeno licks his lips, unable to answer the question. his eyes are cast downward and hyuck takes him by the chin, forcing him to look up and into his eyes.

“h-have you ever,” jeno starts out, closing his eyes, eyelashes fluttering against the tops of his cheekbones. “have you ever wanted to kiss someone while we’ve been dating?”

hyuck cocks his head to the side, obviously lost from jeno’s question and from jeno in general. “baby,” his voice is soft, “what are you talking about? what’s going on?”

“i-i don’t know,” jeno mumbles. “don’t you have practice, donghyuck? you should go. i have to go to practice now.”

he walks around hyuck, ignoring his protests, even though it breaks his own heart ignoring him.

☆☆☆

he’s sitting on his bed later that night, his calculus homework in front of him, when he gets a text from donghyuck.

 **hyuck <3**  
one time. i thought about it once. but i didn’t. nothing happened. if nothing happened for you, then i don’t understand what the problem is

jeno doesn’t feel any better. instead, he just feels worse. and, he cries for what feels like the thousandth time. 

it doesn’t make sense. his feelings aren’t making any sense. you aren’t supposed to think about kissing other people when you are in a relationship, right? you aren’t supposed to feel these things. you can only like one person romantically, right? his heart can’t have it both ways, no matter how much it begs for it.

hyuck’s text should probably make him more confused. confused why hyuck thought about kissing someone else. why hyuck is okay with him thinking about it as well. but jeno doesn't let himself ponder on it too long. 

he decides self-pity is definitely the best way to go about it.

☆☆☆

“come with me,” jaemin mutters, grabbing ahold of jeno’s wrist. jeno looks at him with big wide eyes, bags under them more noticeable than ever. he blames the sleep he’s losing due to all the shit swirling around in his head.

“where ar-” jeno starts.

“shh, just follow me.” jaemin holds jeno’s hand and leads him out of the school and straight into his car.

“jaemin, we’re missing fourt-”

“be quiet,” jaemin commands, opening jeno’s door for him and pushing him inside. “just live a little, jeno. not everything is about school or swimming. some things are about just doing.”

jeno goes to argue, but his door is slammed shut before he can get anything out. jaemin climbs into the driver’s side and starts the car with a grin on his face.

“i’m going to get in so much trouble,” jeno huffs, sounding more annoyed than he actually is. 

jaemin has this effect on jeno that even the latter can’t figure out. jaemin drives jeno up a wall, but when it comes down to it, jeno likes it. looks forward to it, in fact. they’re constantly pulling and tugging each other’s strings, yanking hard and fighting with fervor. yet, jeno just can’t imagine his days without jaemin.

how or when jaemin became so important to jeno’s daily routine are more things he can’t explain. it just happened, and jeno doesn’t hate it or want it to stop. even during the nights he’s trying to figure his heart out.

things with donghyuck have been patched over, but they both know there are words between them that haven’t been spoken and need to be. donghyuck is a good boyfriend, doesn’t push or prod at jeno’s feelings, but jeno feels like shit for not telling hyuck the truth.

but what really _is_ the truth? that’s something jeno needs to find out for himself before he can even think about explaining it to donghyuck.

“you’re thinking hard,” jaemin says, eyes on the road. one hand is on the wheel, the other is inching closer and closer to jeno’s own.

“i have a lot to think about.” jeno shrugs his shoulders. he doesn’t say more. he hasn’t said much to jaemin in about three days.

“you’ve been avoiding me,” jaemin points out, car pulling into the parking lot of a little cafe. he parks and turns to face jeno, a pointed look on his face.

“no, i haven't,” jeno mumbles under his breath, eyes darting downward to avoid jaemin’s gaze.

“yes, you have,” jaemin counters, voice soft and sweet as ever. 

jeno swallows hard.

“jeno,” jaemin says. “jeno, look at me.”

jeno meets jaemin’s eyes.

“why have you been avoiding me?”

a moment of silence. there are so many things jeno can say, excuses he can make about being busy. but god is he sick and tired of holding everything inside all the time.

“because i have a boyfriend and i shouldn’t want to kiss you.”

jaemin’s eyes widen, eyebrows raised, creases in his forehead. he licks his lips, nibbling on the bottom one. “you have a boyfriend?”

jeno nods, cheeks burning red, stomach tight and head pounding with shame. “yeah, i do.”

jaemin nods slowly, looking a bit lost in thought. “and you love him?”

“yeah, i do,” jeno says without hesitation. after a few seconds, he adds, “with my whole being.”

jaemin is quiet for a moment. “and me?”

jeno is silent. the right words don’t seem to come to him. because love is a strong word. a word that jeno has never used lightly. yet, it doesn’t seem wrong to think of jaemin with the word love running in the background. 

jaemin is silent. 

then the car is roaring back to life and jaemin is driving them back to school, no words being exchanged between the two of them.

the tension is so thick, so suffocating. he’s lucky the ride to school is short. 

he’s about to open the car door when jaemin grabs him by the wrist, fingers running over his skin and causing goosebumps. 

jeno turns and jaemin is just looking at him. just looking at him so intensely it chills him to the bone. he’s looking at him like he’s all he wants, and jeno doesn’t know how to react at all.

jaemin’s hand reaches out and caresses jeno’s cheek. his touch is so tender, so soft. it’s the opposite of donghyuck and jeno’s heart aches at the thought.

jeno opens his mouth to say something, but jaemin presses his pointer finger to jeno’s lips instead. 

jeno closes his eyes and leans into the hand on his cheek. he lets himself have this. he knows it’s wrong, wrong in so many ways, yet he can’t pull away.

after a few moments, jaemin pulls away and gets out of the car. jeno follows suit, not making any effort to catch up to jaemin as he walks to the front door of the school. he lets himself trail behind, fingers touching his cheek where jaemin’s hand had been.

his heart wants so many things that it just can’t have. and, he can’t help but wonder, is it so bad to like...love...two people? doesn’t it just prove his capability of feeling an emotion ever so human? 

there are many sides to it. he’s in the wrong, allowing himself to have these moments with jaemin while knowing donghyuck loves him more than life itself. allowing himself to fall for jaemin. allowing jaemin to fall for him. allowing donghyuck to go on, completely blind with trust.

any way he thinks about it, he’s in the wrong. and he can accept it. but there's that part of him just wondering if it really is so wrong to love. yes? no? maybe so? 

before you judge him, understand one thing. love isn’t so black and white. feelings get muddled, lost in the twists and turns of life.

☆☆☆

he thought jaemin was going to be done with him forever. he thought jaemin was never going to speak to him, which is what he had been preparing himself for mentally the entire night. but when jeno steps into the locker room and jaemin pins him to the wall for what feels like the umpteenth time, he is thoroughly confused.

“jaemin?” jeno asks weakly, “what are you doing?”

jaemin doesn’t answer right away, lips hovering over jeno’s. “i shouldn’t want to kiss you.”

jeno’s eyes grow big. “no...you shouldn’t.”

“you should be pushing me away,” jaemin comments, more as an observation than an accusation.

“yes, i should,” jeno glances at jaemin’s lips just for a moment because he’s fucking weak and a fucking horrible person.

they’re so close. jeno can’t hear anything over the sound of his heartbeat.

until he hears footsteps and then the gasp that follows. his neck snaps to the left and there is lee donghyuck in the flesh, staring at them with big eyes and an open mouth.

jaemin’s eyes follow jeno’s gaze and he looks just as shocked as jeno and donghyuck.

jeno pushes jaemin away and walks toward donghyuck slowly.

“hyuck, it’s not wh--”

“bullshit,” hyuck curses, stepping backward. “you’ve got to be kidding me,” he almost laughs when he glances at jaemin. “seriously, you have got to be fucking kidding me.”

hyuck’s words don’t seem to be addressed to jeno and jeno feels left out of the loop. he looks behind him and jaemin is just shaking his head.

“n-no, no, hyuck, i didn’t know.” jaemin is visibly shaking and jeno has no idea what the fuck is going on.

hyuck just shakes his head like it’s the only thing he’s capable of doing. “jeno.”

jeno looks at hyuck, really looks at him and finds him more beautiful than he ever thought possible. god, his heart and mind are fucked up. 

“is this why you’ve been avoiding me?” hyuck’s voice is laced with venom, eyes turning dark, and it makes jeno shiver. “because you’ve decided you want to kiss na jaemin instead?”

“no, no, babe,” jeno sounds pitiful, voice weak. “no.” he can’t even focus on the fact that hyuck and jaemin seem to know each other.

“why are you lying to me?” hyuck demands. “why, jeno? why?”

“i’m not,” jeno protests, tears already brimming in his eyes. he can’t help it. he can’t handle fighting with donghyuck, has never been able to. “i’m not.”

“yes, you are!” hyuck retorts and god does he sound fucking angry. “i don’t know who i’m more pissed at.” he sounds distant, caught up in his own thoughts.

“donghyuck,” jaemin says softly and hyuck’s eyes snap up to meet jaemin’s. “please, i didn’t know. i didn’t know he was your boyfriend. don-”

“i just can’t believe this. not at all. did you find jeno just to get to me? to throw me off my game? do you want to ruin my life, jaemin? is that it?” 

jeno feels like he doesn’t even know who donghyuck is, feels unfamiliar with this donghyuck. jeno supposes maybe the hyuck jaemin somehow knows is different from the hyuck he knows and loves. 

“donghyuck,” jaemin growls, nostrils suddenly flaring, stepping around jeno and pushing him out of the way, “i fucking told you i didn’t know. you’re so fucking self-absorbed you even think my friendship with jeno is about you, too.”

“isn’t it?” donghyuck practically screams. “how could you have not known?”

“because i don’t pay attention to your shit anymore! because my life doesn’t fucking revolve around you, donghyuck!” 

their voices are getting louder and louder.

“oh, you think you’re so brave now? changing schools and suddenly growing some balls?” donghyuck snickers, leaning back against the wall.

“you’re so full of yourself. you think you’re hot shit when in reality you’re not,” jaemin rolls his eyes and jeno doesn’t like the direction this conversation is heading. “you just hate to admit that i can beat you and the reason i changed schools is because you couldn’t handle not being the best on the team.”

“yeah, you think?” hyuck laughs, fucking _laughs_. “you think you’re the shit, jaemin? prove it. i want to see you beat me in the 50 free. i fucking dare you to enter the event at the club meet.”

jeno’s eyes widen and jaemin just chuckles.

“you’re so fucking on,” jaemin says, squaring his shoulders. “i can’t wait for that smug smile to be slapped off your face.”

“god,” hyuck says, licking his lips. “you’re so fucking cocky. why don’t we really make this a race worth fighting for.”

jaemin quirks an eyebrow. “yeah? and what exactly do you have in mind?”

hyuck’s eyes trail toward jeno and jeno bursts into tears, knowing good and well what donghyuck is going to say next.

“jeno.” 

jaemin glances at jeno, eyes softening just a bit.

“whoever wins the race gets jeno,” hyuck clarifies, saying exactly what jeno doesn’t want him to. “loser leaves his life for good.”

“hyuck, no!” jeno all but screeches, prepared to protest and cry until he gets his way. donghyuck is competitive as hell, and jeno knows that this whole race for his heart comes from a place of motivation and a need to prove himself. “you don’t get to decide this. jaemin, don’t let him. don’t do it.”

jaemin gives jeno one more look, soft, tender, sweet. he looks at him, really looks at him before turning back to hyuck and holding out his hand. “deal. loser leaves his life for good.”

jeno goes to protest, but the two of them shake hands and scatter before he can get the words out. the two are already so lost in their own mindset. they’re so different, but what they have in common is their ability to forget about the rest of the world. 

jeno falls to the floor, confused about what the fucking hell happened. there’s no way this is happening. _it can’t be._

☆☆☆

“holy shit, they’re pulling a whole ass edward and jacob,” renjun exclaims, mouth full of celery.

“oh my fucking god,” jeno says, exasperated for many reasons. “renjun, what do i do? please help me.”

renjun shrugs his shoulders and swallows. they’re in jeno’s kitchen, should be studying for AP bio, but jeno can’t focus with everything going on in his mind. he hasn’t heard from jaemin or hyuck since yesterday. he’s going crazy.

“jeno, you fucked up,” is all renjun says before he munches on popcorn his mom made for them. 

“thanks,” jeno says dryly, head hurting. “not like i didn’t know that.”

renjun purses his lips. “no, like, you really fucked up, jeno. like, i don’t know what you want me to say. you did this shit to yourself.”

“am i bad person?” jeno asks, twirling a pencil in his hand.

renjun takes a moment to think. “i don’t know. i don’t think so. it’s okay to like two people, i mean...it’s bad that you were already in a relationship…”

“i know,” jeno sighs. “i’ve been trying to find a way to rationalize it. but there just isn’t a way to.”

renjun shrugs again. “you don’t get to choose who you do or do not love. that isn’t really how it works.”

“i guess.”

“i don’t know, jen. you fucked this shit up. you have to fix it before it’s too late.”

jeno sighs, eyes closing. “how? how do i fix it?”

“you have to choose one, i guess,” renjun seems like he doesn’t really know all that well either.

it takes jeno a moment to process the idea of actually giving either one of them up. the whole thing is selfish of him and he knows it. add that to the reasons he absolutely despises himself.

finally, he lets himself ask the question aloud. “and, what if i want to be with both of them?”

renjun doesn’t miss a beat. bless him. “if that’s what you want...what they want...then you should talk to them about it.”

☆☆☆

talking to jaemin and hyuck would be much easier if they actually decided to answer his texts. it’s saturday, three days have passed since their bet, and jeno is still losing his mind.

he has given up any hope that donghyuck will actually hear him out. he stills texts hyuck, asking to meet and talk about everything. he needs to explain. he needs hyuck to listen to him. though hyuck has every right to not want to.

hours pass with jeno lying in his bed, praying that hyuck will pick up his phone and agree to meet. but nothing happens. no response. he thinks that he’s hallucinating everytime his phone buzzes.

finally, jeno decides that if hyuck isn’t going to answer, he should at least try and talk to jaemin. maybe, if anything, he can talk jaemin out of this ridiculous bet.

to his surprise, jaemin agrees to meet up at the cafe that had slowly become _their_ cafe.

jeno shows up ten minutes early, sitting at a circular table near the door. the place they sat the first time jaemin dragged them there after a long practice. jeno smiles at the memory.

he’s sipping on his cappuccino when his eyes snap up at the sound of the bell ringing on the door. jaemin walks in, hair tousled under a beanie and jean jacket with a sweatshirt on. he looks good. more than good. 

jeno’s heart jumps. 

jaemin’s eyes find jeno’s like a beacon, instantly softening when they make eye contact. he smiles slowly, lets his heart take in the sight of jeno, lets his eyes wander his beauty. 

“hi,” jaemin greets, too nicely in jeno’s opinion. 

“hi.” jeno offers jaemin a seat by gesturing to the iced americano he ordered for him. “got your usual for you.”

“thank you,” jaemin murmurs, taking the seat across from jeno. he takes a sip of his coffee and grins when it tastes perfect. “you know me too well.”

a silence falls over them. there’s so much to say, so much to talk about, but jeno finds himself staring down at his half-empty cup instead. 

“you asked me to come here,” jaemin speaks up, licking his lips.

jeno sighs. he figures he might as well just get into it. “how do you know donghyuck?” 

jaemin quirks an eyebrow at jeno’s question as if he wasn’t expecting it.

“you guys seem to be very well acquainted,” jeno shrugs.

jaemin purses his lips. jeno gives him a minute to answer, figures he owes the younger as much.

finally, jaemin takes a deep breath and begins talking. “we went to the same school. swam for the same club team. basically, we were best friends to sum it up. but, it was...like...more than best friends. because i loved him so much, jeno, so much. and i think he loved me too, even though he couldn’t say it.”

jeno takes in jaemin’s words. his stomach twists and his heart burns. he doesn’t feel jealous like he probably should. he feels relieved. he doesn’t know how to explain it. maybe because donghyuck loved jaemin and maybe, just maybe, there’s a chance he could love him again…

maybe there’s a chance for them after all.

jeno has a small smile on his face when jaemin continues to talk. 

“one day, it just stopped. his feelings for me, his sweetness...his love. he just stopped wanting to be around me, to talk to me, to have anything to do with me. i guess he stopped caring about me. i’m not sure what happened. i don’t know if i will ever truly know. but eventually it just broke my heart. to love him, to see him every day just for him to pretend like i didn’t exist. so i moved schools. and i met you.”

it takes jeno a moment to truly comprehend what jaemin said. because it’s so unlike donghyuck. the donghyuck jeno knows and loves is so full of love, so full of sweetness. he can’t imagine donghyuck cutting someone out of his life with no explanation.

“that...that just doesn’t seem like him,” jeno frowns.

jaemin just shrugs his shoulders, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms over his chest. “i don’t know, jen. all i know is that he changed. and he’s willing to lose you to beat me for whatever reason.”

jaemin sounds mad. jeno admits he’s pissed about it—the whole "macho dude bro" thing hyuck has going on, but he thinks he understands it. maybe a little.

jeno finally asks the question he wants to ask. “do you love him?”

jaemin seems taken off guard, but he doesn’t seem mad about it. “i think i always will.”

the thing about jaemin’s answer is that he feels the exact same way about lee donghyuck. he is easy to fall in love with, easy to love, easy to be around. but jeno can’t help the words that slip out of his mouth.

“and me?”

jaemin is silent.

☆☆☆

jeno ended up walking home from the cafe and dropping onto his bed almost immediately, disregarding his mom’s questions as he walked through the kitchen. 

his thoughts were trained on jaemin and donghyuck, per usual. the whole situation is extremely fucked up. fucked up on another level.

but the way jeno sees it, it’s not all that complicated. in a lot of ways, it is; jeno and donghyuck, jeno and jaemin, jaemin and donghyuck. that's all a big mess. but the thing that connects them all happens to be their feelings for each other. 

the most human of all emotions, the most important emotion. love. as complicated as it is, as fucked up as it is, love overcomes it all, right?

☆☆☆

jeno is fed up with donghyuck ignoring him by the following wednesday. he pulls a jaemin and corners him after school, skipping his own practice to drag hyuck from his.

“jeno, i don’t have time for this,” hyuck snaps, vainly attempting to pull from the grasp jeno has on his wrist.

“don’t care,” jeno murmurs, pulling hyuck all the way to his car and shoving him into the back seat and climbing in after him. 

hyuck scowls at him, but jeno can’t help that his heart flutters at how fucking pretty donghyuck is. even when he looks like he wants to stab jeno in the eyes.

“jeno, i need to train. this is ridiculous.” 

oh, jeno really wants to kiss him. “you’re the one being ridiculous.”

“how? you’re the one letting na jaemin pin you to walls and kiss you, aren’t you?” hyuck has a lot of bite in his voice, but jeno knows donghyuck all too well. can see how his face falters, how his eyes are a little duller.

“he told me about you guys. how you felt about him. hyuck, why are you really doing this? this bet with jaemin, i mean.”

hyuck is quiet for once in his life and jeno’s breath hitches. he knows hyuck is thinking hard, trying to find the right words.

“because i’ve fucked so much up, jeno. i’ve screwed up a lot of shit, but god, i can’t screw this up. i can’t lose you, jeno. i just...i just have to prove to myself that i—i’m capable of not fucking things up. swimming, relationships. i’ve already fucked up my relationship with jaemin, my relationship with you. i can’t lose this race, jeno. there’s so much riding on it.” hyuck’s voice is so soft, so pitiful that jeno’s heart breaks for the umpteenth time. 

“babe,” the pet name just slips out and hyuck looks at him with big glassy eyes. “you didn’t fuck anything up. y-you haven’t fucked up anything. you still have me. i still love you. you still love me, don’t you? this can all be worked out, i promise.”

hyuck looks at jeno so softly, with so much love that jeno can feel it radiating off of him. “god, of course i love you, jeno. more than anyone i’ve ever met in my entire life. but i’ve got to go to practice.”

donghyuck touches jeno’s cheek, fingers ghosting along jeno’s cheekbones. he touches his forehead to jeno’s, resting there for just a moment before pulling away and kissing the skin. the moment is over far too soon and hyuck is leaving jeno’s car and going back inside, leaving jeno alone for another time.

☆☆☆

“why are you doing it? why are you doing this?” jeno asks, wanting to pull his own hair out by this point. it’s been a week. the meet is two weeks away and jeno doesn’t want to spend anymore time like this. this limbo state where jaemin and hyuck talk to him, but not in the way they want.

jaemin looks over from his side of the locker room. there’s still only two of them, but jaemin is proving to be a good swimmer. more than good, in fact. with high school practices and club practices on top of that. his body is getting more fit, abs proving it.

the two of them still have their clothes on, having just finished practice. their hair is wet, jeno’s sticking to his forehead. 

jaemin walks over, just to be closer to jeno for the sake of it. “because i owe him as much. for making a move on his boyfriend, for one. but for breaking his heart, too.”

jeno’s head cocks to the side, eyebrows furrowed. “he broke your heart, jaemin.”

the younger of the two sighs heavily. “i think...i think hyuck is the kind of person that you'll realize you'll love forever, even if they break your heart. i think i broke his by not being the same kind of person.”

jeno tries to understand jaemin’s words, but they don’t make much sense to him. jeno is sure it makes complete sense to jaemin, and hyuck would probably understand it, too. 

“but you're that kind of boy, jaemin.” jeno frowns. “i don’t understand you guys. this fight. it’s not really over me, is it?”

jaemin shakes his head. “i think it’s about a lot of things...you included. i don’t know, jen. i think we just have to let this run its course.”

“you guys are so stubborn,” jeno cries out suddenly, hands balled into fists at his side. “this is just so frustrating. if you guys just talked, if we all just talked— i don’t get it. why are you guys making this so fucking hard on all of us?”

jaemin sighs loudly, hands coming up to rub his eyes. “i owe him, jen, so i’m going to race this. if i lose, i’m going to respect the bet we made, okay?”

jeno can’t even speak real words, but sputter out sounds until he grabs his stuff and runs to his car, leaving jaemin thoroughly confused.

he’s just so mad. mad at himself. mad at jaemin. mad at donghyuck.

he chooses to drive. get on a long stretch of road and drive until it runs out (or his mom calls asking where he is...whichever comes first). he plays chill music from his phone, trying to find the right vibe for the drive.

he settles on khalid, who seems to be the artist he always settles for.

as he drives, he watches a polaroid of donghyuck fall off his dash and onto the floorboard. at a stoplight, he reaches down and picks it up. he smiles at the memory of taking it. they were sitting in jeno’s car, having one of their many fast food, movie-on-a-phone dates in the middle of summer with all the windows down. 

the sun is setting in the background and man, does donghyuck looks beautiful. he always does. even when he’s breaking jeno’s heart.

jeno drives and drives, until his mom is calling him and telling him to go home. but there's something about being on the road with no commitments, nothing hanging over your head, getting a moment to breathe. it makes everything make a little more sense.

it could work. the chances of it working seem high. because he loves both of them. it could work...but only if all of them want it to.

☆☆☆

two weeks pass by slowly, though jeno puts more work into swimming just to forget about the upcoming race. he zones out, lets go of everything the best he can. 

both jaemin and donghyuck are too caught up in the race, in their own mindsets and misery. jeno wishes he could pull their heads out of their asses, but it’s clear to him that the only people who can knock some sense into them are each other. 

so that’s what he'll let them do. that’s all he can do.

☆☆☆

race day. the only thing running through jeno’s mind. race day. today is the day.

jeno wakes up to no texts from either boy. he looks at their snapchat stories and finds nothing. his stomach is in knots.

he drives over to the venue of the meet a little early. he walks onto the deck, familiar with a lot of the swimmers through donghyuck. he’s greeted by hyuck’s coach, patting him on the back and asking him how he is.

when he finally escapes the conversation, he eyes jaemin standing on the deck, talking to a couple of his teammates. he looks good, muscles on full display. he doesn’t look nervous at all and looks more relaxed than jeno has ever seen him.

jeno turns away and finally sees donghyuck. he looks fucking miserable. he’s shaking from head to toe. and he’s all alone, no one around him.. jeno has never seen hyuck look...nervous. never once. not before all the meets jeno has gone to. 

jeno walks over to him, touching his shoulder softly to get his attention.

donghyuck looks over at him and it’s like all the stress just melts away. his shoulders relax.

“jeno,” he breathes out. jeno holds out his arms and hyuck collapses into his hold.

“hi.” jeno kisses hyuck, praying that it knocks some sense into him. his lips are soft, very donghyuck like, and jeno realizes just how much he missed kissing donghyuck. he wants to ask about swimming, but he decides it’s better to not psyche hyuck out. 

god, how he wants to knock some sense into him. instead, he just kisses hyuck again.

“you came,” hyuck sighs in relief. “you’re here.”

“wouldn’t miss it,” jeno says, touching hyuck’s cheek. he doesn’t say anything else, but hyuck seems appreciative nonetheless. 

“the meet is going to start soon,” hyuck says, eyes glancing at the pool, “you should probably go find a seat, baby.”

baby. jeno has missed the pet name so much, missed the way it sounds when hyuck says it. he almost cries again. 

“i’ll see you when the meet's over.” jeno turns away, but hyuck catches him by the wrist and pulls him into his chest. 

“i love you,” hyuck murmurs into the skin of jeno’s neck. he takes him by his cheeks, loving the way jeno’s delicate skin turns red from the attention. he kisses jeno again, hard, not givng a fuck about the people who can see. he let’s go and smiles to himself.

“i love you, too,” jeno says and the words are good to hear. “good luck.”

jeno waves goodbye to donghyuck and goes to his seat in the stands, not noticing jaemin’s gaze on him. 

the meet begins, and jeno is bored. he does some cheering, reading the heat sheets, watching the winners get on the podium. but he’s too anxious to really pay attention to the other people.

his eyes are trained on hyuck and jaemin, watching the way they sway with nerves. he feels nervous for them. 

they’re in the last heat of the 50 free, the fastest heat, and they’re in the lanes right next to each other. there is no room for screw up. 

swimming proves to be one of the hardest sports time after time again. physically, mentally, emotionally. jeno has seen hyuck fall apart because of the sport many times. he’s not sure how hyuck is coping with it, now.

neither of them can afford to do one thing wrong. can’t gain even a tenth of a second. can’t push off the wall wrong, take too many breaths in the water, dive off the blocks half a second late. 

the air is so tense by the time the first heat of the 50 free starts. jeno is twisting in his seat, unable to sit still. there’s so much riding on this, for all of them. he rubs his temples and practically screams when it’s time for the race to begin.

the whistle blows. jaemin and hyuck step up on the blocks. the room is silent. completely silent.

“swimmers, take your marks.” 

they lean down, ready to dive. the star buzzer goes off. they’re flying off the blocks. 

it goes by so fast. they’re neck in neck, practically on top of each other. they flip turn at the same time, and jaemin comes up first. but, hyuck catches up to him easily.

they close in at the flags and jeno doesn’t know who hits the pad first. his eyes fly to the scoreboard. lane four in first place with a time of 20.46. lee donghyuck.

in second place, lane five with a time of 20.47. na jaemin.

the crowd is going crazy, absolutely insane, in fact. jeno’s heart is pounding so hard he can hear it, he can feel it in his temples. he’s stunned. 

his eyes watch as hyuck and jaemin shake hands. he watches the way hyuck triumphs in his win. they climb out of the pool and hyuck’s team congratulates him. jaemin walks to his team and they hug him, rubbing his back as he collapses onto the bench and takes a gulp of water.

jeno can feel the sadness radiating off of jaemin. he sees the way hyuck’s eyes soften when he sees the way jaemin looks defeated. absolutely defeated. jeno doesn’t think there’s any possible way hyuck doesn’t _not_ love jaemin still. it’s written all over his face. 

jeno can only hope he’s right.

the rest of the meet passes by in a blur. jeno is only half paying attention, his mind trained on what’s going to happen after. 

a few hours later, he’s waiting for hyuck just outside the exit doors, enjoying the coolness of the air on his cheeks. but it’s jaemin who comes out of the locker rooms first. 

they stare at each other for a moment, jaemin unsure whether he has a right to talk to jeno anymore. jeno goes over to him first.

“you did amazing,” jeno compliments, hoping to ease some of the tension running through jaemin’s body.

“not amazing enough, though,” jaemin smiles sadly. he can’t meet jeno’s eyes and jeno can’t stand it.

“you can always call hyuck on his shit, jaem. tell him this is ridiculous. he doesn’t have any right to make decisions over my life the way he did.”

jaemin sighs. “i don’t wanna talk about this now, jeno. thank you for coming, though. i should go.”

he reaches for jeno’s face, but hesitates as his hand comes in contact with jeno’s cheek. he looks unsure of what he wants to do, his eyes scream that he wants to lean over and kiss jeno, but his mouth is twisted into a small grimace. he finally settles on caressing jeno’s cheek as usual. 

“goodbye, jeno.” 

jaemin begins to walk away, leaving jeno disappointed and teary eyed. he’s about six feet from jeno when the door slams open and out comes lee donghyuck in the flesh. 

hyuck bounds toward jaemin, dropping his swim bag at jeno’s feet, and practically tackling jaemin. jaemin spins around, but before he can even open his mouth to speak, hyuck is pressing his lips right to jaemin’s. 

jeno is wide eyed with shock, mouth opening and closing as he tries to comprehend the scene in front of him. 

they kiss with fervor, hyuck reaching for jaemin’s face and pulling him as close as possible. jaemin let’s him, eyes closing as he kisses back. they break away after a few moments, jeno still just watching with confusion.

he’s still in ear shot of them and can hear their conversation clearly.

“what was that all about,” jaemin asks breathlessly, touching his lips like he can’t believe what donghyuck just did.

“jaemin…” hyuck starts, searching jaemin’s face and eyeing him so intensely even jeno gets goosebumps. he looks at jaemin with so much love, jeno can feel it. 

“donghyuck,” jaemin says back, licking his lips as they grow dry from the cold air.

“when i saw you before we got on the blocks...when i got on the blocks, i just realized,” hyuck confesses, his voice soft. “i just realized i can’t imagine my life without you. i know we’ve been distant, and that’s my fault. i pushed you away because i didn’t know how to cope with my feelings for you. because i had all these feelings while i was with jeno, and it just— it just made me feel sick because i didn’t think i could love you both. and i was so mad. and god, i’m fucking sorry. i’m so sorry. jaemin, i love you. and, i fuc--”

jaemin shuts donghyuck up with a kiss on the lips. “i love you, too.”

jeno doesn’t even realize he’s crying until he tastes his salty tears. oh, thank god, they have finally realized that they are colossal morons with feelings for each other. 

they look over at jeno who’s just crying into his hands and run over to him.

“baby,” hyuck says, prying jeno’s hands off his eyes. “what’s wrong?”

jeno can’t even speak, too overwhelmed with relief and love and all of these feelings that make him want to scream in joy. 

“jen,” jaemin says softly, on the other side of jeno, holding onto him.

he finally just pulls them both into a huge hug. they hug him back, kissing his tears away. when he finally catches his breath and the tears stop falling, jeno speaks.

“you guys are so fucking stupid, i just want to punch you both in the face and kiss you.”

“kissing sounds better,” hyuck mutters, small smile on his face. jeno punches his shoulder. “hey there, watch the goods. i need that to win.”

“i wish i could rip your stupid shoulder out of your stupid socket.” jeno smiles when he hears jaemin’s giggle.

“oh, just kiss me, babe.” hyuck pulls jeno in for a kiss that takes his breath away. snotty and all, donghyuck accepts him for him. 

when jeno breaks away, jaemin is swooping in and taking his breath away again. 

yeah, jeno could definitely get used to this.

“do you guys wanna go back to mine? we can cuddle and watch movies. oh, and eat pizza,” donghyuck offers with a big grin on his face.

jeno and jaemin hastily agree. they all go to their own cars, despite the whining on jeno’s side. the drive to donghyuck’s house has jeno practically squealing in delight. 

fucking finally.

jeno parks in his usual spot in donghyuck’s driveway and doesn’t waste any time running up to hyuck’s bedroom and making himself comfortable. jaemin and donghyuck come up a few seconds after him, both smiling when they see how fucking adorable he is.

they clamber on top of the bed and make themselves comfortable on either side of jeno. there’s not enough space, definitely not enough space for all of their shoulders, but they make it work. they cuddle into jeno, making a home out of the dips in his waist, freezing cold fingers touching his warm skin.

he shivers. 

“i’m glad you guys finally got your shit together,” jeno whispers, fingers running through their hair.

“ jeno,” hyuck says, twisting to look at the said boy, “i’m so fucking sorry. i was so god damn stupid and selfish. and nothing i do will ever make up for what i did to you. for breaking your heart. for that god awful bet. jeno, i’m so sorry.”

“i know,” jeno sighs. “i know. i want to be mad at you, scream at you a little. but i’m just too tired right now. i love you so much and i want this to work so bad. so i’m just going to cuddle with you right now.”

“we have so much to figure out,” jaemin says, fingers intertwining with hyuck’s on jeno’s chest, “and we have so much time to do so. tonight, we should just be. we can talk about this more, tomorrow.”

a silence falls over them, but it feels so natural that jeno can’t imagine it any other way. he’s been waiting for this. he knows there’s so much left they have to talk about and discuss and forgive. it’s never so simple, but jeno just wants to enjoy this moment.

this moment of pure euphoria because he’s been fucking patient, and he figures he deserves to enjoy it. just a little, at least.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading<3


End file.
